


hands, wrists, teeth

by kareofbears



Series: Escapril [21]
Category: Persona 5
Genre: Fluff, Gen, Three years, aged-up, but only like, squad goals honestly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-21
Updated: 2020-04-21
Packaged: 2021-03-01 22:07:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,011
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23774344
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kareofbears/pseuds/kareofbears
Summary: "I gotta say though," the tattooist says, cleaning his needle for Makoto's turn. "These designs sure aren't common. Never seen anything like it. Care to share the story?"They all exchange glances at each other, unsure of what to say. It isn't easy to explain that, yup, the global phenomenon Phantom Thieves of Hearts really,reallywanted to get matching tattoos of their respective masks and Futaba's age was the only thing holding them back.
Series: Escapril [21]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1685116
Comments: 8
Kudos: 148





	hands, wrists, teeth

**Author's Note:**

> whoa an escapril that's over 1k? madness. hope you guys are doing well with everything that's happening! day 21 lets goooo

"God— _fuck!_ "

"Language! We're in public, Ryuji."

"Easy for you to say—you're next, Miss Prez."

"It's not even that bad, you're just a baby."

"Pain is subjective; what hurts for you may not hurt for him. That is the complex relationship of human interaction."

"In other words: eat shit, Ann."

"I'm so excited!"

"You better be excited, making us wait just for you to turn 18. I still don't understand why we all had to wait and get it at the same time, this lineup is taking forever."

"Things like these are monumental. You wouldn't understand—you haven't felt emotion that isn't anger in years."

"Not true. We watched _Sound Of Music_ yesterday and he cried when Captain Von Trapp and Maria got together."

" _Akira._ "

"Sorry."

"And done," the tired tattoo artist says. It must not be easy, doing six tattoos in a row and another one. "The redness will go away after a few days, and be sure to apply a layer of antibacterial ointment twice a day."

"Awesome! It looks great, dude!" He exclaims, peering closely at his wrist; a simple, black outline of his Skull mask now permanently etched into his skin.

The tattoo artist gives a small smile. "Thank you, but it isn't my design."

"Oh yeah," Ryuji looks at Yusuke and offers a thumbs up. "It looks great, dude."

"I gotta say though," the tattooist says, cleaning his needle for Makoto's turn. "These designs sure aren't common. Never seen anything like it. Care to share the story?"

They all exchange glances at each other, unsure of what to say. It isn't easy to explain that, yup, the global phenomenon Phantom Thieves of Hearts really, _really_ wanted to get matching tattoos of their respective masks and Futaba's age was the only thing holding them back.

"Just wanted something to connect all of us together," Akira replies, eyes drifting down to his own wrist—the Joker mask that he hasn't seen in years, not since that day in Shibuya. It's a miracle that Yusuke remembers it all; he supposes that's what made Yusuke cut from the rest in his own field.

"Fair," the tattooist shrugs, and points at a slightly trembling Makoto. "You're next."

She swallows before sitting in the chair that Ryuji was in moments before. "Nee-san is so gonna kill me." Makoto winces as the needle first pricks on the surface of her skin.

"Are you kidding? Sae loves us!" Ann explains, still inspecting her own Panther tattoo with heart eyes. "Well, loves Akira, tolerates the rest."

"True." A strange outcome that arose in the three years of disbanding the thieves is that Sae and Akira, of all people, had kept in contact with each other. When Makoto asked why, Sae gave her a coy look and said something along the lines of 'having to make sure that Makoto's future partner is decent.' Makoto didn't have the heart to tell her that Akira and Ryuji have been dating since their second year. Still, it's nice to see her sister get along with her friends, even if their friendship was formed in an underground interrogation room. "Also, Ryuji, this doesn't hurt. Are you okay?"

"He's sensitive. He cried when he played one of my dating sim games," Futaba grins, goggles printed onto her wrist—a perfect rendition of Oracle mask.

"Can you guys _please_ stop exposing me?"

"Yes, we should stop teasing poor Ryuji-kun," Haru says, sympathetic as ever. Her tattoo came out flawless as well; her Noir mask has always captured Haru's personality: elegance with an edge. "He is very kind and attune to the feelings of others. Just last week, he was laughing while talking to my plants."

"That is so weird," Morgana scoffs. After a discussion-turned-argument-turned-yelling match that lasted nearly three hours (Ann and Ryuji's voices were destroyed, Makoto was nursing a migraine, and Futaba had fallen asleep forty minutes in), they all finally agreed on tattooing the inside of his ear with his iconic scarf. It had taken a lot of convincing to ask the poor tattoo artist that 'this cat won't fuss' and 'don't worry he wants to, it's not animal abuse, please believe us.' "Talking to plants is fine— _laughing_ with them is pretty worrying."

Before Ryuji throws hands with a cat in public, the tattooist leans back into his chair, relieved. "Finally done."

They all rush to peer around Makoto's wrist—cleanly drawn on her wrist is her Queen mask.

Yusuke smiles, pleased with the outcome. "They all turned out beautifully."

"Yeah, these are awesome!" Ann grins.

They all pay for their tattoos, making sure to leave a massive tip to their skilled (and exceptionally polite) tattooist.

"Wait!" Futaba yells, before they go out the door. "I want pictures!"

Haru gasps. "Yes! I would love to commemorate this moment for the future!"

"Okay," Akira says, fishing out his phone. "I can take it."

Everyone boos, Ryuji going as far as to throw a crumpled piece of paper at his head. "Be in the picture!"

"I can take it," the tattoo artist offers, clearly energized by their ludicrous tip. A chorus of 'thank yous!' go around, and they all huddle around each other.

"We should throw peace signs with our wrists out!" Ryuji exclaims, and they all do so. Together, they collectively smile at the camera.

A click goes off. "Here, how does it look?"

Akira takes his phone back and peers at the photo. They're all smiling at the camera, wrists red but visibly showcasing their new tattoos. His smile was soft, while Ryuji's was bordering manic. Haru's smiling so wide that her eyes are practically closed. Ann's in the background, lifting up a yowling Morgana so he can be in frame, and Yusuke, strangely enough, went for jazz hands.

He feels his heart swell. The fact that they were all willing, excited even, at the prospect of having a physical reminder of their time together from their high school days fills him whole, making him light and heavy at the same time.

"Wouldn’t change it for the world."

**Author's Note:**

> do i know anything about tattoos? no. is that going to stop me? also no. side note: someday i will figure out a different way to end my fics but today is absolutely not that day. side note 2.0: i just imagine since ryuji has so much emotion (in the game, mostly its anger) that he's also more prone to emotions in general.


End file.
